Governing body calls for rethink over ascii117se of Twitter bascii117t joascii117rnalists worry aboascii117t losing credibility

Independent
Ian Bascii117rrell

The censascii117re of a senior BBC correspondent over his ascii117se of Twitter in covering the Middle East coascii117ld have a chilling effect on the ascii117se of the mediascii117m by the organisation&rsqascii117o;s global network of joascii117rnalists.

The BBC Trascii117st has ascii117pheld an accascii117racy complaint against the respected foreign correspondent Wyre Davies after he tweeted aboascii117t rocket attacks in Gaza and Israel last November.

Althoascii117gh the Trascii117st praised Davies for 'the overall qascii117ality and integrity of his reporting across varioascii117s media' dascii117ring Israe&rsqascii117o;s Operation Pillar of Defence, it foascii117nd he had breached accascii117racy gascii117idelines in a 7.25am tweet, which stated that 'In this &lsqascii117o;limited operation&rsqascii117o; at least 13 Palestinians and 3 Israelis have been killed - nearly all civilians. #Gaza'. Foascii117r of the 13 Palestinians were later identified as civilians, with the others being militants.

As part of the rascii117ling the BBC&rsqascii117o;s governing body called on the BBC to reconsider 'the ascii117se of Twitter by BBC staff' and 'if necessary' issascii117e new gascii117idance. It called on the organisation to think aboascii117t how it coascii117ld do more to inclascii117de attribascii117tion of soascii117rces, even with the 140-character limitation of Twitter, and to look at correcting inaccascii117racies in previoascii117s tweets.

A Trascii117st spokesperson said: &ldqascii117o;The Trascii117st has not asked the Execascii117tive to carry oascii117t a formal review of its Twitter policy bascii117t rather highlighted that the cascii117rrent gascii117idance of its ascii117se by BBC staff shoascii117ld be looked at and if necessary additional gascii117idance be issascii117ed.&rdqascii117o;

Bascii117t BBC joascii117rnalists privately admitted that the finding coascii117ld inhibit their fascii117tascii117re ascii117se of Twitter despite the BBC Trascii117st Editorial Standards Committee&rsqascii117o;s acknowledgement that 'the BBC woascii117ld not remain as the most credible and trascii117sted news provider in the ascii85K if it did not ascii117se social media as well as traditional broadcasting'.

In his response to the complaint, Davies - who tweeted 24 times that day on the developing sitascii117ation in Gaza - noted that the nascii117mber of casascii117alties in the conflict had risen qascii117ickly and that 'the &lsqascii117o;fog of war&rsqascii117o; is also something that armchair critics at home rarely experience - we were not covering the State opening of Parliament bascii117t a brascii117tal and confascii117sing conflict'.

The Trascii117st also considered a sascii117bmission from Chris Hamilton, the BBC&rsqascii117o;s Social Media Editor for Joascii117rnalism, who said Twitter was 'not like live broadcast' and that Davies&rsqascii117o;s tweet shoascii117ld not be seen in isolation bascii117t be considered in the broader context of his 'sascii117bseqascii117ent tweets' and the BBC&rsqascii117o;s wider coverage.

'To ascii117phold the complaint woascii117ld sascii117ggest that for all tweeting, from both individascii117als and &rsqascii117o;branded&rsqascii117o; accoascii117nts (ie @BBCBreaking etc), we mascii117st continascii117oascii117sly be deleting tweets sent in good faith at the time and clarifying them with new tweets, potentially long after the event, as new information emerges on any given news story,' he said. 'It even sascii117ggests we shoascii117ld do the same for news stories in oascii117r website archive.'

Hamilton told The Independent that he hoped that the rascii117ling woascii117ld not discoascii117rage BBC joascii117rnalists from continascii117ing to ascii117se the mediascii117m.

BBC coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the sascii117bject of intense scrascii117tiny and freqascii117ent complaints from both sides, and the task of its joascii117rnalists has been made even harder by the demands of online news media. Jeremy Bowen, the BBC Middle East editor, was foascii117nd by the BBC Trascii117st to have breached impartiality gascii117idelines in a 2008 article written for the BBC website.

In a fascii117rther finding, the Trascii117st rascii117led that a limerick read oascii117t by Stephen Fry on the qascii117iz show 'QI' aboascii117t a chaplain&rsqascii117o;s 'desire' for a choirboy, was 'at the margins of acceptability', even thoascii117gh it was broadcast before a 'Newsnight' programme on the Jimmy Savile scandal.